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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Over the summer we decided it was time to upgrade Tyler's bedroom decor from the Star Wars theme we gave it when he was five. When we asked what he wanted the new theme to be, we weren't at all surprised when it involved hockey. The Detroit Red Wings to be exact.Our first step was to decide how much red we wanted in the room. I had the idea to do one whole wall as an accent but Phil and Tyler wanted more color. We compromised with white above and red down low where it will (hopefully) hide any scuff marks.

We went to Home Depot and used the Glidden Sports Team paint guide as inspiration. We painted the whole room white to hide the color underneath. Then we laid out the stripes and painted the red. Both paints are semi-gloss with primer.

We had a hard time with the striping. We tried blue painter's tape and the green Frog tape. The stripes still bled in a few spots and we had to do some manual touch ups but overall we think the paint turned out really well.Next, we decided on the decor. That is still a work in progress, but we have put up several things that are making the room come together.Phil made this picture frame. He used some of our old and broken street hockey sticks and a pane of glass from Michaels. The jersey is from the first team Tyler played hockey for and we included the team photo and Tyler's player card.

I bought the red sheets and pillowcase at Walmart for $14. The black backrest pillow is from Bed, Bath and Beyond ($25 before coupon). Tyler chose it because it reminded him of a hockey puck. The Red Wings comforter, pillow sham and Red Wings fleece blanket
were recent birthday gifts from Tyler's grandparents.

The hanging light above the bed is from Ikea. We bought the shade, bulb and cord separately and paid about $20 for all the components. Tyler bought the Stanley Pillow Pet during a trip to Michigan. So far, the paint and supplies were the biggest expense.We still have spaces we'd like to fill in. I want to get a valance for the window and maybe a trash can or rug, Tyler wants the Red Wings logo on the wall above his dresser and we want to figure out a way to make a headboard with hockey sticks or netting.

Tyler absolutely loves his room! He shows it off to everyone and makes a
bit more an an effort to keep it clean than he did before. The old Melanie might have put up a fight at the idea of painting a room red or going for broke with a theme, but since I decided years ago to be more of a 'yes mom,' I knew I had to go along with this. Paint is easy to change and Tyler's happiness is worth the multiple coats we'll have to use when it comes time to make a change. At least, it is now. Ask me again when we're re-painting.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Last night, Tyler wrote the note below and gave it to Phil to pass along to his boss:

Dear Dennis
I am writing about the situation of Veteran's Day because my dad is in the Navy and is a veteran and does not have the day off. If you could please change that it would be very appreciated.

Thank you,
A Random Person

Thank you to all our men and women in uniform; those who have served us in the past and those serving now. Thank you to your friends and family for being your support system. Your service and sacrifice mean so much.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Here's my wish for you, that you never have to see your child go through something like this:

About a month ago, we had to take Tyler to the emergency room for a CT scan after three days of concussion symptoms. Here's how everything unfolded:He played a game on a Sunday morning. He and another child collided head to head (accidentally), they both fell and then the back of Tyler's head hit the ice. He has taken harder hits than that one before. He's gone into the boards so hard I had to stop myself from running onto the ice. He has slipped, fallen and hit his head worse than that before. So when he got right back and up and continued to play, all of us, Tyler included, thought he was fine.Later that afternoon, he was supposed to visit a friend. I told him to clean his room and then we'd go. After about half and hour, I wondered why it was taking him so long and went to see if he was playing rather than cleaning. He was asleep in bed. Our son hasn't taken a nap since he was four. That was clue number one something wasn't right.Even later that afternoon, he complained of a headache. When we told him he should stay home rather than go to his friend's house, he started crying because his toothbrush was still at their house from a previous sleepover and now he wouldn't be able to get it back. Falling asleep, headaches and mood swings are all symptoms of a concussion.We called the pediatrician's office for advice. For the rest of the evening, we kept a close eye on him and we woke him up twice during the night to ask him three questions each time (which he answered). The next day, Monday, his teacher sent him home from school because she could tell he wasn't feeling well. He said he'd had double vision while trying to take a test.Tyler's headaches came on and off all that day. He would be fine one minute and in a lot of pain the next so we went to the doctor that afternoon. He was officially diagnosed with a mild concussion. Tuesday, his headaches were still coming and going, sometimes without warning.Wednesday morning Tyler woke me before the alarm went off for school. He was crying and holding his head. "It hurts, it hurts so bad." That's when I decided to take him to the ER. The doctor looked him over and was confident his symptoms were still mild. She told us she, as a parent herself, would not do the CT scan on her own kids if they were presenting as well as Tyler, but Phil and I decided we needed to know for sure that he was OK.Both us hadn't slept well since Sunday night, worrying there might be more wrong than we knew. Fortunately, the CT scan was normal. It was worth the possible risks from the X-Ray for our peace of mind. This doctor mirrored our pediatrician and said no physical activity (practice, games, PE class, recess) for two weeks. When she said that, Tyler started to cry.

I was very happy this doctor was able to talk to Tyler about what a concussion is and convey how serious they can be without scaring him. We sent him to school the next day (Thursday) with a doctor's note and instructions for him to go to the nurse immediately if he started getting blurry vision again.We spent the rest of the week watching him for symptoms and noticed several odd things. He dropped the carton of milk twice in one morning. He tripped and stumbled walking back from the pool. We were talking about weekend plans and then a few moments later he asked, "So, what are we going to do tomorrow?" Each time something like that happened, it re-affirmed that keeping him out of his activities was the right choice, no matter that he told us he felt just fine.Concussions affect each person differently. After the headaches went away, Tyler begged us to let him start playing again and we had to say no repeatedly. We yelled at him when we caught him riding his scooter, which he was not supposed to be doing anyway, but certainly not WITHOUT A HELMET! Tyler told us he felt like he was being punished. We told him his health and safety were considerably more important than his feelings. During dinner the following Tuesday night (nine days after he got the concussion), Tyler was telling us about his day at school. "We were playing dodgeball at PE and I got hit in the head with the ball." Say what?!Tyler looked like a deer in headlights. He realized too late that he should have kept that story to himself.

******

This post is getting really long so I'll stop here and break it into two parts. I'll tell you about the conversation I had with the vice principal and the reaction Tyler got from some of his classmates.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

This is second in a series of sponsored posts for The Motherhood's SweetSmart campaign.So, let me tell you about one of my more recent parenting failures. It involves my son and his dental habits. I thought we had resolved our issues back when we bought him the Sonicare for Kids, but I was wrong. Very, very wrong. About a month ago, he lost one of his last baby teeth. It was on the upper right side of his mouth. A few days later, we were talking and I noticed his breath was terrible. "Holy cow, your mouth stinks! Did you brush your teeth today?""Yes.""Well, go swish some mouthwash and brush extra tonight at bedtime."The next day, it was the same thing. His breath was awful. Rather than swish I made him brush his teeth. Much protesting ensued and he insisted he had already brushed that morning. For a week, Tyler would talk to me, his breath would knock me over and I'd send him off to brush. Finally, I figured I needed to take charge and see if I could figure out what was happening in there. We went into the bathroom at bedtime. I sat on the toilet lid so I could have a birdseye view."Alright, open up and tilt your head back. Let's see what's going on in there."And then I almost threw up.It looked like each tooth on the right side of his mouth was covered in yellow cottage cheese. The plaque was so thick I couldn't see enamel. I got out my dental pick and started scraping. I wiped the plaque onto a piece of toilet paper so he could see it. I told him that growing pile was leftover food. "Why didn't you brush that side?""After my tooth fell out, it hurt to brush over the hole so I just stopped."Okay, then. By the time I finished scraping and flossing, I swear there was enough plaque to make a small scale model of a tooth. We had another long talk about brushing, flossing and using mouthwash. I told him when he loses his last baby tooth, he can't not brush but to go back the the manual toothbrush on that side until his gums aren't tender. We talked about occasionally swishing with a mixture of warm water, mouthwash and hydrogen peroxide. Even though our son is 10, apparently he still needs supervision for basic things. I was hoping we have reached the point in his life where I can count on him to wash his own face, brush his own hair, clip his own nails and not arbitrarily decide to stop brushing half his teeth, but obviously, leaving him to own devices is not a good idea. I will never be able to clean the image of his furry teeth from my brain.

Still, at least we have the tools to keep his mouth healthy. Many families so not and their children really suffer. Read on to learn a few fact about pediatric dental disease and then please leave me one of your recent parenting fails so I don't feel quite so bad!

Statistics from America's Tooth Fairy.org:*An estimated 17 million children in America go without dental care each year.*Pediatric dental disease is 5 times more common than asthma and 7 times more common than hay fever.*
44% of American children will suffer from pediatric dental disease before they reach kindergarten.*4.5 million children develop pediatric dental disease every year.*Pediatric dental disease is a primary reason for emergency room visits in children.*Left untreated, pediatric dental disease can lead to malnourishment, bacterial infections, required emergency surgery, and even death.*Dental disease has been linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, pneumonia, poor pregnancy outcomes, and dementia.

This post is sponsored by The Motherhood. I received products from Johnson and Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNeil PPC as part of the Listerine Smart Rinse Sweet Smart Challenge.

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About Melanie

Melanie Sheridan is a Southern California lifestyle blogger writing about her life as a stay at home mom turned work at home mom. She married her high school sweetheart 16 years ago and they share one amazing kid. She is an avid reader, shoe slut, Twitter addict, chocolate fiend, newbie photographer, closet gadget girl, wannabe foodie, late iAdopter, recovering shopaholic and a Pinning Fool. Melanie is very active in San Diego's social media community and freelances with small business owners.